How is technology changing the way that we stage and design a production? What new possibilities might digital technology open up for theatre designers in the future?

From the Deus Ex Machina of Ancient Greek Theatre to the invention of the electric lantern in the late nineteenth century, technology has had a huge impact on the ways in which we stage a performance. Olivier Award Winning Set Designer Es Devlin (Chimerica, American Psycho, The Nether) and Luke Halls (I Can’t Sing!, Olympic and Paralympic Closing Ceremonies) discuss how digital technology is currently revolutionising the world of theatre design.

How do we create a theatre for the digital age? Is technology fundamentally changing the ways in which we engage with and make performance?

Matt Adams (Co-Founder and Artist, Blast Theory), David Sabel (Head of Broadcast and Digital at the National Theatre) and Tassos Stevens (Co-Director, Coney) discuss how digital technology is revolutionising performance.

Are games a dangerous and anti-social addiction? Might gaming be able to save the world? How is gaming culture changing the kinds of stories that we tell and how we engage with them?

Join playwright and gamer Rory Mullarkey (Cannibals) and Iain Simons (Director of the GameCity Festival and co-founder of the National Videogame Archive) to explore how gaming has developed from Pong to Destiny and to discuss where gaming might take us in the future.

How do you write a play about the ethics of online existence? How do you stage a virtual world?

Playwright Jennifer Haley and director Jeremy Herrin discuss The Nether and the process behind creating Headlong and the Royal Court’s production of the show, in a discussion chaired by Headlong's Associate Artist, Sarah Grochala.

The Nether Realm is a living virtual world inspired by Jennifer Haley’s new play, The Nether. The artwork explores the ways in which virtual environments can be the product of our activities in real life and considers the idea that the moral character of these online public spaces is ultimately dependent on how we create and interact with them.

The realm is linked in real time to the Twitter hashtag #TheNether. Every time the hashtag is used on Twitter, new life is breathed into the world. When the hashtag is not in use the world slowly starts to decay.